Tahoe ski season opens with man-made snow, escape from...

1of60Top: Amie and Kamil Dusejovsky dressed as narwhals for opening day at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort in Placer County. Below: Dry, snowless slopes didn’t deter skiers seeking a respite from smoky skies to the west.Photo: Photos by Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

2of60Snow-making machines blanket slopes that nature had kept dry at Boreal Mountain California Resort in the Lake Tahoe area.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

3of60Skiers ride the Kangaroo chair against closed runs nearby, at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

4of60Clear blue skies greeted skiers and snowboarders fro opening day at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

5of60Cheryl Varner and Andy Melendez, who high fives the operator, were the first riders on the Kangaroo chair lift to open the season at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

6of60Skiers arrive for opening day at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

7of60The air quality in San Francisco has reached the purple on the Air Quality Index (AQI) as the skyline is shrouded in smoke from the Camp Fire on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Russell Yip / The Chronicle

9of60A man wears a breathing mask while bicycling through Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. University officials cancelled classes Friday because of the unhealthy air conditions which continue to choke the Bay Area with heavy smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County.Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

10of60Graduate student Joao Carreira walks through Sproul Plaza wearing a safety breathing mask at UC Berkeley on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. The plaza was largely deserted after university officials cancelled classes Friday because of the unhealthy air conditions which continue to choke the Bay Area with heavy smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County.Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

11of60Chelsea Lopez tapes a notice to an entrance of the Student Union announcing the building�s closure at UC Berkeley on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. University officials cancelled classes Friday because of the unhealthy air conditions which continue to choke the Bay Area with heavy smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County.Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

12of60The Salesforce tower was obscured by smoky skies from 5th and Mission street in San Francisco on Nov. 16th, 2018.Photo: Audrey Cooper / The Chronicle

13of60Marc Stokes shared this image of photographs taken a week apart that show how thick the smoke is in the SF Bay Area. Unhealthy air conditions persist in the region from smoke of the Camp Fire.Photo: Instagram / marcstokes79

14of60The East Bay is obscured from San Francisco due to hazy sky conditions in the Bay Area.Photo: Kevin Phillips

15of60Smoke obscures the view from the Rockridge BART station on Thursday, November 15th.Photo: SF Gate / Katie Dowd

16of60Smoke obscures the view from the Rockridge BART station on Thursday, November 15th.Photo: SF Gate / Katie Dowd

17of60Smoke and haze from wildfires obscures the Embarcadero Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, in San Francisco. Recurring wildfires are sparking concern among medical experts about potentially major health consequences. Worsening asthma, lung disease and even heart attacks in heart disease patients have all been linked with previous fires. But blazes that used to be seasonal are happening nearly year-round and increasingly spreading into cities. That's exposing many more people to choking smoke that contains many of the same toxic ingredients as urban air pollution. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)Photo: Eric Risberg / Associated Press

18of60Smoky air fills the sky in Oakland as seen from Hiller Highlands on Friday, November 9, 2018.Photo: Yalonda M James, The Chronicle

19of60Smoky air fills the sky in Oakland as seen from Hiller Highlands on Friday, November 9, 2018.Photo: Yalonda M James / The Chronicle

20of60Smoky air fills the sky in Oakland as seen from Hiller Highlands on Friday, November 9, 2018.Photo: Yalonda M James, The Chronicle

21of60Smoky air fills the sky in Oakland as seen from Hiller Highlands on Friday, November 9, 2018.Photo: Yalonda M James, The Chronicle

22of60Smoky air fills the sky in Oakland as seen from Hiller Highlands on Friday, November 9, 2018.Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

23of60People wear masks while walking through the Financial District in the smoke-filled air Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in San Francisco. Authorities have issued an unhealthy air quality alert for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from a massive wildfire drifts south, polluting the air. Officials say the thousands of structures in the town of Paradise, 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, were destroyed by the blaze that has charred 110 square miles (285 square kilometers).Photo: Eric Risberg, AP

24of60A woman wears a mask while walking through the Financial District in the smoke-filled air Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in San Francisco. Authorities have issued an unhealthy air quality alert for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from a massive wildfire drifts south, polluting the air. Officials say the thousands of structures in the town of Paradise, 180 miles (290 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, were destroyed by the blaze that has charred 110 square miles (285 square kilometers).Photo: Eric Risberg, AP

25of60The sun rises above the East Bay hills through a smoky haze in Berkeley, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Air quality in the region remains unhealthy while smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County continues to drift to the south.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

26of60The sun rises above the East Bay hills through a smoky haze in Berkeley, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Air quality in the region remains unhealthy while smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County continues to drift to the south.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

27of60Smoke blankets the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from the Camp Fire near Chico drifts into the region.Photo: Scott Toth

28of60Jose Vigil wears a protective breathing mask with other striking hotel workers making noise on the picket line in front of the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Air quality in the region remains unhealthy while smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County continues to drift to the south.Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

29of60Smoke from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the Bay Area on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Amy Graff

30of60Houses are surrounded by smoke off of Pentz Road during the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

31of60People are seen wearing masks on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in San Francisco. Bay Area residents woke to a strong, sickening smell of smoke inside their homes Friday morning as thick, sooty air from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the region.Photo: Susana Guerrero/ SFGATE

32of60Smoke blankets the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from the Camp Fire near Chico drifts into the region.Photo: Sam Wheeler

37of60People are seen wearing masks on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in San Francisco. Bay Area residents woke to a strong, sickening smell of smoke inside their homes Friday morning as thick, sooty air from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the region.Photo: Susana Guerrero/ SFGATE

38of60Smoke drifts into the Bay Area from the Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Todd Woody / Courtesy

39of60As the Camp Fire near Chico exploded to more than 18,000 acres on Nov. 8, 2018, smoke poured in the Bay Area. Photo taken from Telegraph Hill.Photo: Mark Winter

40of60People are seen wearing masks on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in San Francisco. Bay Area residents woke to a strong, sickening smell of smoke inside their homes Friday morning as thick, sooty air from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the region.Photo: Susana Guerrero/ SFGATE

41of60People are seen wearing masks on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in San Francisco. Bay Area residents woke to a strong, sickening smell of smoke inside their homes Friday morning as thick, sooty air from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the region.Photo: Susana Guerrero/ SFGATE

42of60As the Camp Fire near Chico exploded to 18,000 acres, smoke poured into the Bay Area on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Kevin Phillips

43of60As the Camp Fire near Chico exploded to 18,000 acres, smoke poured into the Bay Area on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Kevin Phillips

44of60Smoke fills the air in the SOMA area of San Francisco, Calif. on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Leif Johnson / Courtesy

45of60This photo taken on Alcatraz Island shows smoke moving into the Bay Area from the north on Thursday, November 8th.Photo: Simon Piatkiewicz

46of60A layer of smoke could be seen above Dolores park on Thursday afternoon. Air quality quickly deteriorated after the Camp Fire broke out in Butte county.Photo: Amy Graff/SF Gate

47of60Smoke from the Camp Fire near Chico poured into the Bay Area on Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Amy Graff

51of60Photos show smoke from Camp Fire near Chico pouring into Bay Area. The wildfire started at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2018, and quickly exploded into a raging inferno.Photo: Twitter screen grab

52of60Photos show smoke from Camp Fire near Chico pouring into Bay Area. The wildfire started at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2018, and quickly exploded into a raging inferno.Photo: Twitter screen grab

53of60Photos show smoke from Camp Fire near Chico pouring into Bay Area. The wildfire started at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2018, and quickly exploded into a raging inferno.Photo: Twitter screen grab

54of60Photos show smoke from Camp Fire near Chico pouring into Bay Area. The wildfire started at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2018, and quickly exploded into a raging inferno.Photo: Twitter screen grab

55of60Air quality levels around the Bay Area at 5 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2018, as smoke from the Camp Fire poured into the region. The areas marked red are considered "unhealthy."Photo: Air Now

56of60San Francisco reached a new record for bad air quality on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018.

57of60Skiers ride the Kangaroo chair lift at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special to The Chroicle

58of60Kamil, (front) and Amie Dusejovsky dressed as Narwhals for opening day at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

59of60Skiers and snowboarders ride the Kangaroo chair next to a closed run at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

60of60Skiers and snowboarders make their way down the Kangaroo run at the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Fri. November 16, 2018, in Alpine Meadows, Ca.Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

ALPINE MEADOWS, Placer County — There wasn’t a flake of real snow anywhere in the Sierra, but that didn’t matter to Andy Melendes, who was first in line Friday for opening day at the Alpine Meadows ski resort.

Melendes, 48, of Incline Village, Nev., was eager to try out the man-made stuff that the resort had laid down on the Kangaroo run, an intermediate slope on the lower part of the mountain.

“It’s actually the best hill going right now,” Melendes said, as he climbed on the chairlift. “It’s a good day!”

Skiers and snowboarders took to the artificial slopes around Lake Tahoe on Friday in a blissful mass escape from the catastrophe of the Camp Fire, which has wafted smoke throughout Northern California.

Forecasters say the dry weather, which has increased the fire danger across California, is likely to end Wednesday, but the snowfall next week is not likely to make up for the lack of precipitation this fall. In fact, say experts, the forested mountains are facing a parched future.

“We are experiencing more or less a permanent warming trend,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, adding that the snow and rain that does fall tends to come during short periods when there are large winter storms. “We’re seeing how much it matters, because if the rainy season starts late we get fires.”

The slow start, which so far mirrors what happened last year, is a pretty good indicator, along with all the other trends, that a big snow year may not be in the cards, Swain said.

“We are really starting with a deficit,” Swain said. “We can definitely recover from it, but unless we are wetter than average the rest of the year, the likelihood is that we will have a precipitation deficit.”

A warmer-upper is exactly what the eager souls on the slopes Friday wanted.

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Skiers take to the slopes created by snow making crews on opening day in Tahoe.

Video: San Francisco Chronicle

“It’s beautiful, nice and warm, like a spring day,” said Deborah White, 58, of Truckee. “I wish there was more snow, but, hey, opening day is really a day for friends and shaking out the cobwebs.”

The bright blue skies around Lake Tahoe were a revelation for Kate Brazauskas, and not just because every place else was covered in a gloomy haze. She and her husband, Andy Yewdell, moved to Berkeley in August after 30 years of living in Washington, D.C., and got the new lifestyle they were looking for, in spades.

“We left last night to escape the poor air quality, which we’ve never experienced before, and now we’re getting a new experience on opening day,” said Brazauskas, 34, after a couple of runs on Kangaroo. “This is a different kind of wild.”

There were, to be sure, limited choices Friday for snow lovers. Squaw Valley opened a beginner ski area known as Sno Ventures, which includes a chairlift, two conveyor belt style lifts for kids and a tube run. North Star and Heavenly Valley also opened, with very limited service. Boreal Mountain opened Nov. 9 and Mount Rose opened Oct. 19.

“There’s no natural snow, so we’re running on entirely machine-made snow,” said Liesl Hepburn, the spokeswoman for Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, who was very thankful for recent advances in snow-making equipment.

Almost every ski resort in the Sierra has invested heavily in snow-making equipment, especially after enduring major losses during the four-year drought that started in 2011.

Michael Reitzell, the president of Ski California, also known as the California Ski Industry Association, said the number of skiers and snowboarders at California resorts rebounded in the winter of 2015-16, when 7.5 million people visited California resorts. The numbers have gone down along with the snowpack since then. Last year, when snow levels were about 52 percent of average, 6 million skiers and snowboarders visited the resorts, he said. The 20-year average is between 6.5 million and 7 million visitors

“Our resorts have some pretty fantastic snow-making systems,” Reitzell said. “Are we worried? Not yet. It’s November. It snows every year. Not getting early snow certainly doesn’t mean it can’t turn into a big year.”

Unfortunately, that may be exactly what it means.

California has warmed by 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1985, from an average temperature of 58.5 degrees to 59.5 degrees, according to climate scientists. Consequently, the snowpack in the Sierra and in three-quarters of the western United States has been shrinking. Some climate studies project that Sierra snowpack could fall as much as 90 percent by 2100.

None of which was spoiling the fun of Kamil and Amie Dusejovsky, who were skiing in fuzzy blue-and-white onesie pajamas designed to look like narwhals. The couple, who have been living in a travel trailer since moving out of their home in Park City, Utah, also visited Mammoth on opening day.

“Actually, the snow is better than expected for a warm start to the season,” Amie said. “You gotta make it fun. In the end, it’s all about enjoying the snow.”

Peter Fimrite is The Chronicle’s lead science reporter, covering environmental, atmospheric and ecosystem science. His beat includes earthquake research, marine biology, wildfire science, nuclear testing, archaeology, wildlife and scientific exploration of land and sea. He also writes about the cannabis industry, outdoor adventure, Native American issues and the culture of the West. A former U.S. Forest Service firefighter, he has traveled extensively and covered a wide variety of issues during his career, including the Beijing Olympics, Hurricane Katrina, illegal American tourism in Cuba and a 40-day cross country car trip commemorating the history of automobile travel in America.